Advice You Should Not Have Heard
by Knight of Black and Gold
Summary: So Paula gave Artemis advice in 3x16 that was... something one person shouldn't hear. Well what if she did hear it? (One Shot)


**All rights to these characters are property of DC.**

**I saw episode 16 of season 3 and I thought one person needed to see that conversation.**

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Top Floor, League of Shadows Tower

_Cheshire POV_

The prisoner was held in chains around his neck, legs, and arms each held by a Shadow above the gladiatorial pit where he stood at center stage. The man foolishly though that he could escape this place with whatever he came here for. As this tower's most famous residents looked upon him: Lady Shiva watching his every move, Deathstroke alert with sword in hand, and Ra's contemplating on his throne.

"So," he arrogantly spoke. "Are we gonna do this one at a time, or can all of you come at me at once?" His beaten face smiles, blood on his teeth to match the hood. "Cause I have to be somewhere soon?" He looks over to where a watch would be if chains were tied to his wrist. Shiva silently signals to tighten the chains around his neck, forcing him to breathe loudly.

"You dare speak to the League of Shadows so disrespectfully," Shiva declared, jumping into the arena to stare him down personally. "Do you know why we have left you alive?"

"Because you couldn't kill me."

"No I'm not a clown, but just so you know, if you were my child I'd have killed you now."

"Yes, because you're parenting skills were so amazing Cassandra chose to stay with you." Shiva's face remains uninterested in what he says, but does not reply to him. Ra's however leans forward to listen to what he has to say. "You know that Cassandra was better off with her father after the divorce." Shiva's eyes that have remained calm in the face of training, battle, and death twitched. "You know that right, but you hate having it pointed out to you." Shiva collects her thoughts before answering.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that," Shiva unexpectedly responded. "You of all people know what little Batman can give you."

"You think I think you think she's better off because she went to Batman after disobeying her dad?" He rhetorically asked her, enjoying the implications of her own statement. "I know you don't care about that. What you care about is you're own achievements. You spent how much time trying to teach your students and whats the result, cannon fodder. What would you're daughter have been if you trained her? Cannon fodder. Yet somehow you're ex-husband made her one of the most dangerous martial artists on the planet. That's why you're so tough on her. You don't want to admit your ex was the better teacher and parent-" Shiva's punch to the abdomen cuts him off.

Shiva shouldn't feel sad about that. She should feel proud that her kid is better than her. Especially if you had to do the hard thing and nobody seems to respect it.

Shiva hits across the face forces a splatter of blood to paint the ground while the other Shadows forced him to stand. Preparing for another strike an unexpected intervention stops her.

"Shiva quit hitting the suspect," Deathstroke told her as a sword was held to Shiva's neck. Normally she would consider any sword raised against her to be a challenge to her authority, but Shiva simply ignored her equals challenge as she remains fixated on the prisoner.

"I don't want you're protection Slade," the prisoner cussed towards him. "I saw what protection Jericho got. AHHHH-" Deathstroke stabs his hand quickly, going all the way through but allowing the boy to hold the sword between his hands. Unamused Deathstroke twists the sword forcing more blood onto the floor but no response from either of the men.

Who's Jericho? From the prisoner, it sounds like what would have happened if I stayed with Lian.

"Are you a professional jack#$$ or a sadist?" Deathstroke asked staring him down.

"Is there anyone else you'd like to see respond to criticism about their personal life before we execute you?" the master asks. A short silence takes hold of the room as no one answers.

"Yes," the arrogant boy optimistically tells the room. The rest of us stare at the master because-

He's the only one with a kid-

He's the only one the prisoner would know about-

He started pointing with his stabbed hand towards the master. That's why the members of the shadows were staring at the master. Nothing to do with criticism of his parenting just that the sword was pointing at him.

"Cheshire," the breathless man called out to me. He's pointing to me? "I have something you'll want to see." The Shadows including Shiva, Deathstroke, and the master all focus on me rather than the prisoner who I expected to try an escape during this distraction.. "Utility belt, 3rd pocket on the left."

"How dumb do you think we are?" Deathstroke asked.

"How many people do you think a utility belt can take out?" he asked, flattered at the level of paranoia Deathstroke directs at him.

"Depending on the amount of poison gas released-"

"Open it," the master declared, Deathstroke most irritated. "He said it himself, he can't do that much damage with a mere utility belt." Mostly uninterested, Ra's directs me to open my gift. 3rd pocket on the left-

"Wrong left!" the owner warned. The 3rd pocket on the left gives me a 3 inch diameter metal sphere. Based on the design feels like a holo-computer. "Roll it."

Tossing the ball on the ground the holographic imagery forms layer by layer. First creating a blue grid in the shapes of the initial structure. Next primary colors are established showing a hallway of a house with two women talking. More detail comes in the surrounding room with a couple of picture frames of- Will... Lian? and me! This is Will's house! The two women who come into view: Artemis and my mother.

"_You left the life behind. Then came back to it at a cost that nearly destroyed you,_" holo-mom told -more like angrily screamed- at her. I'm sure she's waiting to give me the same speech.

"_Don't-_" holo-Artemis attempted to stop her. Its foolish though, mom will never approve of our choices.

"_Two years recovering. Rebuilding. And now you have a real chance at a normal life. Soon you'll have you're Master's Degree and then your doctorate._" Yeah, Artemis is even worse at relationships than I am. At least Wally West taught me the best thing I could do for my daughter is to is to keep my life as far away from her as possible. Sure Will has a private security company but that's not the same thing.

"_Which doesn't mean-_" But it does. Those of us destined for the life will always be consumed by it. You would have been better off getting out with Wally West.

"_Look at me Artemis. Look at your friend Barbara. Is this what you want for yourself! What will it take to convince you?_" I guess Mom's wrong too. You can't argue with destiny and human nature. People will join the life for reasons you can't stop.

"_Mom, I am helping people._"

"_You don't have to fight crime to help people. You can get out of the life once and for all. You and Will!_" WHAT THE %$#^! MY MOM. ARTEMIS AND WILL-

"_Woh Woh Woh! Me and Will are nothing. He's my brother-in-law._" HE BETTER BE SLUT!

"_Oh please I see the way you two look at each other. I wish things were different, but the hard truth is your sister isn't coming back. Even Will knows it, and Lian needs a mother,_" holo-Huntress-NOT MY MOM-told her. What type of mom calls for incest and infidelity simultaneously!

So my sister is not %$#^ing my husband. It's just that my MOTHER wants her to %$#^ MY MMMYYY HUSBAND!

So that's my family's plan. Have Artemis replace me as Lian's mom and Will's wife. What is mom going to do? Marry Green Arrow as a replacement for dad? Knowing her yes, and I know I left, but they could at least try to care that I'm still around.

How long has Artemis and Will been living together without me? Two years. Two years they've been wearing skin-thin sports equipment in sweat filled training sessions. Like the %$#^ing Olympics.

Neither of them wanted a gym membership when I lived with them. So the two of them must be-

"If I-" Is that Whitney Houston?

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One Minute Earlier

_Deathstroke POV_

"Oh please I see the way you two look at each other. I wish things were different, but the hard truth is your sister isn't coming back. Even Will knows it, and Lian needs a mother," holo-Huntress completed.

"Haaaa-" the boy-wonder finds his, I'll admit it, victory over Cheshire quite amusing. She may not be saying anything but her face is all we need to know that she is calling her sister a- "Her reaction is even better without the mask!" He manages to blurt out dispute limited room for breathing, laughing, and talking at once. In his defense Cheshire reacted to her mom asking her sister to bang her husband as though she had just been forced to watch her parents home made porn, with the plot to match. Her eyes, mouth, even nostrils and ears were wider than normal. Her hand dropped the weapons she was holding.

"Impressive," the master smiles. "Without firing a single shot you have paralyzed one of the deadliest assassins in the League of Shadows." The non-responsive from Cheshire showed how unaware she was of the world outside its holographic message. "And without offering a money or threat you have gotten her to target her sister, no doubt a secondary objective of yours."

"Is it that obvious," the Red Hood despite all the wounds, blood, and chains smiled victoriously.

"[Chuckle] Well done young detective."

**"BOOOOOOOOOM"**

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_Red Hood POV_

Just on time. The ground behind me explodes causing a significant hole to open on the tower.

"Hope I could help you all learn something today," I tell the shadows. Summoning the all-blades I shatter the chains contrasting me and Deathstroke's sword. Now freed to activate my utility belt remotely, I need to wait just one more second. "I'm sure we'll do this again." As I jump into the hole to the sky, my utility belt uses its remote control rockets to come at me, catching it right before I'm out of the tower. Firing a grappling hook downwards I just have to wait for-

"[WHOOSH]" A military grade jet flies through my grappling hook dragging me through the sky. I retract the grappling hook allowing me to enter the co-pilot seat of the plane.

"You get what we came here for," Arsenal asks me, setting our destination for our Indian Ocean safe house.

"Yeah Yeah," I respond tossing him one of the compartments of my utility belt. "Made sure to stick around for a second to bring it with us."

"Deathstroke and Shiva gave you that much time to escape?" he asked challenging my explanation.

"Well they were distracted..."

"Distracted by what?" Roy asks intrigued by, what I said. I have a reputation for saying things that cause people to freeze. Depending on who you are, I'm a monster or entertainment.

"Remember that holographic recording system you helped RA set up."

"Did you use some of the footage from that?!" he asks enraged. Enraged because he knows I hacked his computer. "What did you use?"

"The one between Artemis and her Mom."

"What! You showed it to Cheshire didn't you!" he accused me.

"Of course, who else would I want to show THAT to." Maybe Dick, because that would really mess with him. Does he or does he not support Artemis moving on? Does he try to make the first move?

"Jason that is a complete, misuse of the security system I set up. The privacy violations-"

"You're angry you couldn't see her reaction in person."

"You're damn right," he quickly conceded.

"Well if it makes you feel an better I can't see her reaction to the follow up."

"Follow up?"

* * *

_Deathstroke POV_

As the Red Hood jets away I go through my options.

"Scramble the jets," I order.

"Delay that," the master states to everyone's surprise. "Let him go."

"Master, we have no idea what he's stolen from us-" the Sensei protested. A rare source of disagreement with the master.

"It doesn't matter. Having him unleashed upon the world will pay dividends. They will have to face an adversary who can hit emotionally in ways I can't even imagine." Shiva is annoyed that she cannot target the brat. A rare day to see two, especially high ranking Shadows, disagree with the master. "I mean just look at what he did to Cheshire."

The master diverts out attention to the still paralyzed Cheshire, enjoying her torture. The holographic footage had changed to some sort of montage.

"-ANDD IIIIIIII-" the accompanying romantic music went with pictures of Artemis and Red Arrow swinging across the skyline.

"-IIIII WILLLLL ALWAYS-" The Red Hood appears to have sung the music himself. Meanwhile, the picture switches to Artemis, Red Arrow, Halo, and Lian Harper sitting at a dinner table.

"-SSSSSSS LOVE YOUUUUUUUU." the music end with a photo of a happy Red Arrow and Artemis washing the dishes with a heart shaped border.

When the music end, Cheshire grabs her knife and stabs the holographic device. Rushing out of the room afterwards with a target in mind.

"I'm sure this will benefit us somehow," Ra's declared cheerfully. "And eventually the boy will turn on the League and Batman himself."

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**Yeah I added Red Hood just because of all the characters in DC comics he's the one I write the most and the guy who would most likely show this to Cheshire just to piss her off.**

**Please comment.**


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